The Signs of the End

We're in Matthew 23, 37 to 24, 35.

We've come to what's known as the Olivet Discourse

It's gonna be a ride.

You're gonna have to pay close attention,

but we'll get through it together.

Matthew 23, 37 to 24, 35.

Let me pray.

Heavenly Father,

I come to this difficult and contested text

with fear and trembling

for I don't want to teach anything that is wrong.

It's not of you.

So Lord, guide my lips.

Guide the ears and hearts of everyone here.

Close them to anything that is not true,

anything that is not of you.

But may your truth seep in deeply

and pierce all of our hearts.

So that we live this day

in light of Christ's death and resurrection

and in light of Christ's return

to make all things new.

Fill us with that hope.

Breathe fresh hope by your spirit

into the lungs or the spiritual lungs

and the hearts of all your sons and daughters now,

this morning, this moment.

In Jesus' name we pray.

Amen.

Please stand if you're able

so that we can honor God

as we read from his word.

Matthew 23, 37 to 24, 35.

Oh, Jerusalem, Jerusalem,

the city that kills the prophets

and stones those who are sent to it.

How often would I have gathered your children together

as a hen gathers her brood under her wings

and you were not willing.

See, your house is left to you desolate.

For I tell you, you will not see me again

until you say,

Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.

Jesus left the temple and was going away

when his disciples came to point out to him

the buildings of the temple.

But he answered them,

You see all these, do you not?

Truly I say to you,

there will not be left here

one stone upon another

that will not be thrown down.

As he sat on the Mount of Olives,

the disciples came to him privately saying,

Tell us, when will these things be?

And what will be the sign of your coming

and of the end of the age?

And Jesus answered them,

See that no one leads you astray.

For many will come in my name saying,

I am the Christ.

And they will lead many astray.

And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars.

See that you are not alarmed

for this must take place.

But the end is not yet.

For nation will rise against nation

and kingdom against kingdom.

And there will be famines and earthquakes

in various places.

All these are but the beginning of the birth pains.

Then they will deliver you up to tribulation

and put you to death.

And you will be hated by all nations for my name's sake.

And then many will fall away

and betray one another and hate one another.

And many false prophets will arise

and lead many astray.

And because lawlessness will be increased,

the love of many will grow cold.

But the one who endures to the end will be saved.

And this gospel of the kingdom

will be proclaimed throughout the whole world

as a testimony to all nations.

And then the end will come.

So when you see the abomination of desolation

spoken of by the prophet Daniel,

standing in the holy place,

let the reader understand.

Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains.

Let the one who is on the housetop

not go down to take what is in his house.

And let the one who is in the field

not turn back to take his cloak.

And alas for women who are pregnant

and for those who are nursing infants in those days,

pray that your flight may not be in winter

or on a Sabbath.

For then there will be great tribulation

such as has not been from the beginning of the world

until now, no, and never will be.

And if those days had not been cut short,

no human being would be saved.

But for the sake of the elect,

those days will be cut short.

Then if anyone says to you,

look, here is the Christ,

or there he is,

do not believe it.

For false Christs and false prophets

will arise and perform great signs and wonders

so as to lead astray, if possible,

even the elect.

See, I have told you beforehand.

So if they say to you,

look, he is in the wilderness,

do not go out.

If they say, look, he is in the inner rooms,

do not believe it.

For as the lightning comes from the east

and shines as far as the west,

so will be the coming of the Son of Man.

Wherever the corpse is,

there the vultures will gather.

Immediately after the tribulation of those days,

the sun will be darkened

and the moon will not give its light

and the stars will fall from heaven

and the powers of the heavens will be shaken.

Then will appear in heaven

the sign of the Son of Man

and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn

and they will see the Son of Man

coming on the clouds of heaven

with power and great glory.

And he will send out his angels

with a loud trumpet call

and they will gather his elect

from the four winds

from one end of heaven to the other.

From the fig tree, learn this lesson.

As soon as its branch becomes tender

and puts out its leaves,

you know that summer is near.

So also when you see all these things,

you know that he is near at the very gates.

Truly I say to you,

this generation will not pass away

until all these things take place.

Heaven and earth will pass away,

but my words will not pass away.

This is the word of the Lord.

The many runners we have in our midst

can attest to the widely shared experience

that when they're in the middle of a race

and they can see the finish line

near the close of a race,

they start to run faster.

Scientific studies have also confirmed this.

It's called end spurt phenomenon.

But aren't runners the most exhausted

by the end of the race?

So why do they run faster

as they near the end of the race

when they see the finish line?

There are several reasons.

One, when you can see the finish line,

the goal and the reward of the race is imminent.

The gratification of finishing the race,

the medal that you're going to win

and the personal record you're going to break,

it drives people harder to run faster.

When the reward is nearer,

it motivates.

The psychologists call this the goal gradient effect.

Effort increases the nearer you get to the goal.

Second, two, when you can see the finish line,

you know that you don't need to conserve any more energy.

You can expend all your remaining energy

because you know that you're going to be done

and you can be flat out exhausted,

but you're going to get rest after that finish line.

Three, pain becomes more tolerable as you near the end.

Pain that would seem to you unbearable for the next five miles

is bearable for the next 200 meters.

So people can endure more pain

when they can see the finish line.

This is why we motivate one another with expressions like this.

You can see the light at the end of the tunnel.

Keep your eyes on the prize.

The finish line is in sight.

We say these kinds of things

because a pilgrim who can see his fatherland in the distance

walks with renewed vigor.

This is why it is essential

that we understand what Matthew 24 teaches us

about the end of the age and the return of Christ.

The main point of this passage is this.

Endure through tribulation

and proclaim the gospel of the kingdom.

First, we're going to talk about Christ's departure

and the desolation of Jerusalem.

And then we're going to talk about Christ's return

and the consolation of the new Jerusalem.

First, let's talk about his departure.

In the preceding passage I talked about last week,

Jesus denounced the Jewish leaders,

the Pharisees and the scribes

for shedding the righteous blood

of all of God's people and prophets

from Abel in Genesis to Zechariah.

That's the A to Z,

the first and the last martyrs of God in the Old Testament.

And then Jesus said in verse 36,

truly I say to you,

all these things will come upon this generation.

Jesus prophesies of judgment

that will befall this generation,

the generation that is there at the time of Jesus' life.

Because of their rejection of God's messengers

and ultimately of their rejection of Christ,

Jesus himself,

all these things are going to come upon them.

What is all these things?

Jesus tells us in verse 37,

O Jerusalem, Jerusalem,

the city that kills the prophets and stones,

those who are sent to it.

Jerusalem, the chosen city of the temple of the Lord God's dwelling place

that was once called in Psalm 48, 1-2,

his holy mountain, beautiful in elevation,

the joy of all the earth,

is now called the city that kills the prophets and stones,

those who are sent to it.

And Jesus continues,

how often would I have gathered your children together

as a hen gathers her brood under her wings

and you were not willing.

This avian imagery of a mother bird caring for her young under her wings

is a rich imagery that's used throughout the Old Testament.

At the end of the Pentateuch,

at the end of Deuteronomy,

describing how God led Israel out of the wilderness,

out of Egypt and then through the wilderness

and brought them to Canaan,

Deuteronomy 32, 10-12 says that God found Israel in a desert land,

in the howling waste of the wilderness,

and then encircled him and cared for him

and kept him as the apple of his eye.

Like an eagle that stirs up its nest,

that flutters over its young,

spreading out its wings,

catching them,

bearing them on its pinions,

the Lord alone guided him.

No foreign God was with him.

And again in Psalm 91 verse 4,

Psalms 91:4

it says,

The Lord God will cover you with his pinions

and under his wings you will find refuge.

It was God's heart

and therefore his son's heart,

Jesus' heart,

to gather us,

to gather all his people together

under his wings like a mother bird

to protect us and to keep us.

But we,

or Jerusalem in that age,

was foolish.

They were not willing.

How many of us have spurned Jesus

in his desire to gather us under his wings?

So Jesus pronounces his judgment

in verses 38 to 39.

These things that he said

will come upon this generation.

He says,

See, your house is left to you desolate.

For I tell you,

you will not see me again

until you say,

Blessed is he who comes

in the name of the Lord.

Remember,

Jesus is still at the temple courtyard.

He hasn't gone to the Mount of Olives yet.

And so when he talks about your house,

he's talking about the temple.

And he's saying,

he's prophesying

that the temple of God

will be deserted by God,

abandoned by God.

It will become a desolate house.

And this echoes the language

of prophet Daniel

in Daniel 9.17,

who after the destruction

of Jerusalem and the temple

by the Babylonians,

prayed,

O Lord,

make your face

to shine upon your sanctuary,

which is desolate.

God had warned

in Jeremiah 22.5,

If you do not obey these words,

I swear by myself,

declares the Lord,

that this house

shall become a desolation.

And that's exactly what happened.

Later,

when Israel and Judah

ran after idols,

abandoned their God,

God himself deserted

his temple.

And prophet Ezekiel

actually saw

in his prophetic vision

in Ezekiel 10-11,

he saw the glory

of the Lord

depart from the temple.

Imagine the tragic

and devastating scene.

The glory of the Lord

coming up out of the temple,

mounted up on the wings

of the cherubim,

and then leaving it.

And there's nothing

you can do to stop it.

It was the presence of God

that made the promised land

the promised land.

It was the presence of God

that made the temple

what it is.

It was the presence of God

that set Israel apart

from all the other nations.

It was the presence of God

in the temple

that guaranteed

their future

and gave them hope

in life.

And now,

Ezekiel,

in his prophetic vision,

beholds

the glory of the Lord

leave.

The desertion

of the temple

by the Lord

naturally

and inevitably

leads to the destruction

of the temple

by the Babylonians.

And once the glory

of the Lord

departs from Jerusalem,

do you know

where it goes next?

It says in Ezekiel 11-23,

the glory of the Lord

went up from the midst

of the city

and stood

on the mountain

that is on

the east side

of the city.

Do you guys know

what mountain that is?

East side of Jerusalem.

It's the Mount of Olives.

It's no coincidence

that Jesus,

after leaving Jerusalem here

for the last time,

he's not going to come back

until he's arrested.

He's not coming back

on his own.

So,

Jesus goes to the

Mount of Olives next

in chapter 24

and then prophesies

his judgment

over Jerusalem.

So,

in Ezekiel,

the glory of Yahweh

left the temple

and stopped

at Mount of Olives.

In Matthew,

Jesus Christ

leaves the temple

and stops

on the Mount of Olives.

Matthew is drawing

a bold parallel

and connection

to tell us

that Jesus

is the glory

of the Lord.

He is the Son of God.

When Jesus leaves

Jerusalem

and its temple,

God himself

is leaving

and if these people

knew what was happening

when Jesus left Jerusalem,

they would have

broken down

and wept.

To emphasize this,

Matthew 24,

1 says,

Jesus left the temple

and was going away

twice

to emphasize

that he left

for good.

And then,

quoting the Messianic Psalm,

Psalm 118, 26,

Blessed is he

who comes in the name

of the Lord.

We bless you

from the house

of the Lord.

That's what the inhabitants

of Jerusalem

should have said

to Jesus,

the Son of God,

the Messiah.

But instead,

they cursed him,

rejected him,

and will soon

kill him.

And so,

the glory of the Lord God,

Jesus,

the Son of God,

leaves the temple

in Jerusalem.

And just as Yahweh's

departure from the temple,

the first temple,

led to this destruction

of Jerusalem

and the temple

by the Babylonian Empire,

Jesus' departure

from Jerusalem

will then lead

to the destruction

of the second temple

by the Romans

in 70 AD.

And that's exactly

what Jesus prophesies

of in chapter 24.

As they are leaving

Jerusalem,

Jesus' disciples

point out to Jesus

the buildings

of the temple

in chapter 24,

verse 1.

The parallel account

in Mark 13,

Mark 13:1

verse 1,

is a little more vivid.

There,

the disciples say

to Jesus,

look, teacher,

what wonderful stones

and what wonderful buildings.

They're pointing out

the architectural marvel

that the second temple,

Herodian temple,

was.

The first temple

built by Solomon

was already magnificent,

and then it was destroyed

by the Babylonians

and then Ezra,

Nehemiah,

with help from

prophet,

I mean,

priest Joshua,

Haggai,

and Zerubbabel

rebuilt the second temple,

but it was not that glorious,

not as glorious

as the first.

And so Herod,

King Herod,

trying to curry favor

with the Jews

and styling himself

as the king of the Jews,

even though he wasn't

quite king,

rebuilt and revamped

and expanded

that second temple

so that he was

even bigger

than the first temple.

The stones used

for the temple

mount walls

were known

as the Herodian ashlars,

and they're famous

for their immaculately

chiseled borders

and their immense size,

and they have found

one of those underground,

and the largest one

that they found

weighs 570 tons

and is longer

than a school bus.

That's about the weight

of 95 full-grown

African elephants,

or three to four

fully loaded

Boeing 737s.

So imagine

a temple complex,

a building

built with such

massive

monolithic stones.

It's impressive,

to say the least.

The whole complex

was the size

of 26 to 27

football fields,

American football fields.

Three times,

almost three times

as tall

as the Temple of Artemis

in Ephesus,

which was counted

as one of the

ancient wonders,

seven wonders

of the ancient world.

A Jewish rabbi,

therefore,

with reason,

commented one time

that he who has not

seen the Temple of Herod

has never seen

a beautiful building

in his life.

First century historians

remark that when they see

the gold-plated temple,

the light was dazzling

and blinding,

and when they see

the pure white,

the top,

it looked like

a snow-capped mountain

soaring over the horizon

and dominating the skyline.

The disciples

marveled at that,

saying,

look how beautiful,

look what wonderful stones,

what wonderful buildings,

and then Jesus

bursts their bubble.

There will not be left here

one stone upon another

that will not be thrown down.

It's a remarkable prophecy

fulfilled with striking accuracy

less than 40 years later.

Literally every stone

of the temple

was toppled

in 70 AD.

All that remains today

is the western wall,

which was a part

of the outer temple complex

and not of the temple buildings

themselves.

Jesus goes into greater detail

about the destruction

of Jerusalem and his temple

in verses 15 to 28.

So let's skip forward there

for a little bit.

It says in verse 15,

So when you see

the abomination of desolation

spoken of by the prophet Daniel

standing in the holy place,

let the reader understand.

Then let those

who are in Judea

flee to the mountains.

The abomination of desolation

spoken of by the prophet Daniel

is a reference,

surprise,

to the book of Daniel.

Daniel 9,

Daniel 9:27

verse 27,

Daniel 11, 31,

and 12, 11,

all of which prophesy

that someone who will,

that someone will come

who will desecrate

and defile the temple of God,

an abomination

that makes desolate.

Most pastors and theologians

agree that the first referent

of Daniel's original prophecy

was fulfilled

in the second century BC

by the Seleucid king

Antiochus IV.

He arrogantly called himself

Epiphanous,

meaning God made manifest,

claiming to be God.

He plundered the temple of God

and then he halted

the Jewish daily sacrifices

and then he set up

a pagan altar,

most likely to Zeus,

inside the temple of God

and then sacrificed

an unclean animal,

a pig on it,

that the Jews

deemed ceremonially unclean.

But why then

is Jesus referring

to Daniel's prophecy

which pointed to,

which a figure

that predated him

by 200 years?

Biblical,

prophetic,

and apocalyptic literature

employs multiple types

and patterns

of figures

that repeat

throughout history.

For example,

in Revelation 2.14,

it says that

some people

in the New Testament church

of Pergamum

follow the teaching

of Balaam,

even though Balaam

is a pagan seer

from Israel's days

in the wilderness

in Numbers.

Similarly,

Revelation 2.20

says that the church

in Thyatira tolerated

that woman Jezebel,

even though Jezebel

is the idolatrous queen

from the days of Elijah,

the king Ahab.

So in a similar way,

Jesus is employing

this prophetic type,

the prophetic pattern

of Antiochus IV

to speak of another

defiling

of the temple

that is coming.

But this time,

the abomination

of desolation

will not merely

desecrate.

It will completely

destroy the temple.

So I take this

to be a reference

to the Roman general

Titus

who destroys Jerusalem

and the temple

in 70 AD.

The parallel account

in Luke 21.20

confirms this interpretation.

I think I have

a parallel verses

to show for that.

Luke 21.20

explicitly states

that the desolation

that Jesus

is speaking of

is caused by armies

that surround Jerusalem.

That's exactly

what happened

in 70 AD.

That's when Jerusalem

was destroyed

and the temple

was destroyed

and it was never

built again.

This is a terrible

time for God's people.

Jesus says in verse 21,

for then there will

be great tribulation

such as has not been

from the beginning

of the world

until now,

no,

and never will be.

This sounds like

a singular,

unprecedented,

great tribulation,

right,

that will never

be repeated again

and because of that

many people assume

that Jesus is here

speaking of an end time,

never before seen,

great tribulation

that will immediately

precede the second

coming of Christ.

But I don't think

that's actually the case

for several reasons.

First,

we talked already

about how this

is a reference

to the destruction

of the temple

in 70 AD.

If this were a prophecy

about the end

of the world,

then the phrase

that nothing like this

will happen

in the world

again doesn't

really make sense.

The prophecy assumes

that history will

continue after this event.

Second,

the expression,

as has not been

from the beginning

of the world

until now,

no,

and never will be,

it's a Hebrew idiom.

It's a rhetorical

superlative,

hyperbole,

you might say,

that's common

in the Old Testament.

Exodus 10,

13 to 14,

Joel 2,

2,

and Daniel 12,

1,

all use similar

language.

Third,

Jesus is echoing

the language

of Ezekiel 5,

9,

where God

decrees the

destruction of

Jerusalem

by the Babylonian

empire.

And he says this,

and because of

all your abominations,

I will do with you

what I have

never yet done

and the likes

of which I will

never do again.

Exact same language

that he used

with the destruction

of the Babylon,

with the first

Jerusalem temple,

and now Jesus

is repeating that,

echoing the language

with the second temple.

So all that to say,

I don't think

this great tribulation

is this unique

never before,

never after event.

It's already happened

at least twice

according to the Bible.

In fact,

decades later,

Revelation 2,

22,

and 7,

14 speak of

another great

tribulation.

I think this too

is a pattern

that repeats

throughout history.

But for the people

of God

living at the time

of the destruction

of the temple

in 70 AD,

the tribulation

would have felt

truly singular

and unprecedented.

And 3rd century

church historian

Eusebius notes

that the church

in Jerusalem

knew to flee

when trouble

started brewing

in Jerusalem

because of this prophecy.

And they were able

to survive

the destruction

of Jerusalem

by fleeing

to the mountains,

heeding Jesus' words.

This remarkable prophecy

prompts the disciples

to ask Jesus

privately in verse 3

tell us,

when will these things be

and what will be

the sign of your coming

and of the end

of the age?

Note that there are

two different questions

here.

And conflating

these two different

questions has led

to a lot of

interpretive confusion.

So we need to

distinguish these

two questions carefully.

The first question is,

when will these things be?

What do they mean

by these things?

It's the destruction

of the temple

that Jesus just spoke of.

Second question is,

what will be the sign

of your coming

and of the end

of the age?

The disciples do not

yet fully understand

the import

and the implications

of this question,

but if the destruction

of the temple

portends the beginning

of the end,

the beginning

of the birth pains,

as Jesus says

in Matthew 24, 8,

the sign of Christ's coming

and the end of the age

is speaking of

the end of the end.

Jesus answers that first

part of their question first.

When will these things be?

When will the temple

be destroyed?

When will this age

of the temple

come to an end

and give way

to a new age?

All three of the

Synoptic Gospels,

Matthew, Mark, and Luke,

mention the same

four signs.

First, the deception

of the false Christs.

Second, wars and rumors

of wars.

Third, earthquakes and famines.

Fourth, tribulation

and gospel witness

to all nations.

But notice,

this is important,

that Jesus doesn't say

that these signs

will mark the end.

Jesus says repeatedly

that they do not

mark the end.

Matthew 24, verse 6.

Matthew 24:6

Look at it with me.

For this must take place,

but the end is not yet.

Did you see that?

Matthew 24, verse 8.

Matthew 24:8

All these are but

the beginning

of the birth pains.

These are not signs

of the end.

This is why I like

to call these

the non-signs of the end

or the false alarms

of the end.

All pregnant women

go through

what is called

Braxton Hicks contractions.

All the pregnant women

know.

Congrats, by the way.

Justin and Janine

just gave birth

to their son, James.

I don't know if you guys

saw that.

Yeah.

And the Braxton Hicks

contractions

are known

sometimes as

false labor

or practice labor.

It's like

warm-up exercises

to prepare the uterus

for true labor.

And these four

non-signs

are like

the Braxton Hicks

contractions.

They are not

the signs

of the end

of the end.

Rather,

they mark

the beginning

of the end.

Sometimes,

Christians

who are troubled

by world events

that they see

in the news,

wars,

natural disasters,

pandemics,

they've asked me

over the years,

Sean,

do you think

this means

we are living

in the end times?

And I always

tell them,

yes,

we are.

And we've been

living in it

since the first

coming of Christ.

Remember Peter's

sermon in Acts 2.

He says that the

last days prophesied

of in Joel 2

have come upon them.

The last days

are already here.

Began with the

ascent of Christ

and the descent

of the Holy Spirit.

And so these are,

don't panic,

so when you read

in the newspapers

of all these wars

and rumors of wars

and famines

and earthquakes

happening,

these are false alarms.

And then skip ahead

briefly with me

to verses 32 to 35.

From the fig tree

learn its lesson.

As soon as its branch

becomes tender

and puts out its leaves,

you know that summer

is near.

So also,

when you see

all these things,

you know that he is near

at the very gates.

Truly I say to you,

this generation

will not pass away

until all these things

take place.

Heaven and earth

will pass away

but my words

will not pass away.

Some people think

that Jesus was wrong

in his prediction

of his return

since he says here

that this generation

will not pass away

until all these things

take place.

And that hasn't happened.

Jesus hasn't come back yet.

But pay attention

to what exactly

Jesus said

would take place

during the lifetime

of that generation.

all these things.

What are all these things?

Look at verse 33.

When you see

all these things,

you know that he is near.

All these things

that take place

within the generation

of Jesus' lifetime

are the things

that mark,

the signs that mark

Jesus' nearness.

Like the fig tree

putting out its leaves

and indicating

that the summer is near.

These are signs

that tell us

that Jesus is near,

not signs

that tell us

that Jesus is here.

These are signs

of nearness,

not hereness.

The phrase

all these things

is not inclusive

of the second coming

of Christ.

In fact,

the phrase

all these things

is used very carefully

by Matthew

throughout chapters 23 and 24.

Remember earlier

he said in chapter 23

verse 36,

all these things

will come upon

this generation.

And then again

in chapter 24 verse 8,

all these are but

the beginning

of the birth pains.

The all these things

that will take place

before that generation

of Jesus passes away

are the destruction

of the temple

and these four

non-signs of the end.

So let's take

these four false alarms

in order.

History records

all four of these things

happening

throughout the days

of Jesus.

Earthquakes in Asia Minor,

Palestine, Jerusalem,

widespread famine

that Acts 1128 records

and Jewish Roman historian

Josephus records

widespread persecution

as Christians bear witness.

These Braxton Hicks

contractions

have been going on

ever since.

There are many

false Christs

in Jesus' day

and there are many

false Christs today.

Think of Sergei Torop,

the former Russian

traffic cop

who founded

the Church of the Last Testament

in Siberia

in 1991

and claimed to be

the reincarnation

of Christ.

Gathered thousands

of followers

until he got arrested

for abusing them.

Think of Lee Man-hee,

the South Korean leader

of the Shincheonji

Church of Jesus

or the Temple

of the Tabernacle

of the Testimony.

He claims to be

Jesus' successor

and the only person

who can rightly interpret

the book of Revelation.

His cult is active

here in Boston.

They've tried

and failed to recruit

two of our own

church members.

Have you guys heard

of any of these people

before?

You guys have some of them.

I mean,

many of you

probably have never

heard of them before.

And if you haven't

heard of them,

that's one reason

to know that

they are certainly

not the second coming

of Christ.

Why?

Because Jesus says

in verse 23,

if anyone says to you,

look,

here is the Christ

or there he is,

do not believe it.

Why?

He says in verses

27 to 20,

for as the lightning

comes from the east

and shines as far

as the west,

so will be the coming

of the Son of Man.

Wherever the corpse is,

there the vultures

will gather.

If you've ever seen

the lightning light up

the sky when you're

outside,

you know that no one

can miss that

if you're outside

and you're not blind.

Jesus' coming

will be the same way.

When he comes back,

it's not going to be

some secret thing

that happens somewhere

that only a select

few people see

and then spread the word

to everybody else.

No,

when he comes back,

everyone will know.

He will be unmissable.

The fourth

and final non-sign

is witness

in the midst

of persecution.

Jesus says

in verse 9

that his followers

will be delivered

up to tribulation

and put to death,

be hated

by all nations

for his namesake.

And notwithstanding

this hatred

of all the nations,

Jesus says

in verse 14

that this gospel

of the kingdom

will be proclaimed

throughout the whole world

as a testimony

to all nations.

Notice that parallel.

Persecution

by all nations.

Hatred by all nations.

Testimony

to all nations.

They go hand in hand.

They always coexist

side by side.

Similarly,

note the contrast

between verses

10 to 12

and verse 13.

Many will fall away.

Many will be led astray.

Love of many

will grow cold.

But the one

who endures

to the end

will be saved.

The repetition

of the word many

stands in stark contrast

to the singular one.

The one who endures

to the end

will be saved.

So don't be

among the many

who are led astray.

Among the many

whose love

will grow cold.

Many who will go

after false criats.

Don't be among the many.

Be the one

who endures

to the end.

Enter by the narrow gate

for the gate is wide

and the way is easy

that leads to destruction

and those who enter

through it are many

for the gate is narrow

and the way

is hard

that leads to life

and those who find it

are few.

Verse 14

where Jesus says

the gospel of the kingdom

will be proclaimed

throughout the whole world

as a testimony

to all nations

and then

the end will come.

this has been

misinterpreted

by many

causing confusion

speculation

surrounding foreign missions

and its connection

to Christ's second coming.

This verse

is often understood

in mission circles

as a mandate

to reach all

sociolinguistic

ethnic people groups

with the gospel

because until

that happens

they claim

Christ will not return.

For example

there are missions

organizations

that tell us

that there are

presently

189

unengaged

unreached people groups

left in the world

and that once

they reach

the remaining

ethnic groups

with the gospel

that Christ will return.

But this

popular definition

of ethnic

people groups

wasn't formalized

until

1974

Lausanne

Congress

on World Evangelization.

are we to believe

that Christians

for 1900 years

did not fully

understand

the exact nature

of the Great Commission

until the rise

of the modern

sociological understanding

of people groups?

They define

unreached

peoples

as meaning

less than 2%

of their populations

being Christians.

I want to ask

who came up

with that arbitrary

number?

I think this is

too mechanical

of a way

to think about

the Great Commission.

In fact

I think we have

reasons to think

from the Bible

itself

that the gospel

of the kingdom

has already

been proclaimed

throughout the whole

world

as a testimony

to all nations.

Why do I think

that?

Acts 1.8

says

you will be

my witnesses

!

in Jerusalem

and in all Judea

and Samaria

and to the ends

of the earth.

that verse

functions as

a thesis statement

of the entire

book of Acts.

I think I have

the outline

the structure

of the book

of Acts

to show.

In chapters

1-7 of Acts

they're in Jerusalem.

In chapters

8-9

they're in Judea

and Samaria.

In chapters

10-28

they're in

the end

of the earth.

In chapter

2

in that first

part

in Jerusalem

the Holy Spirit

falls on the

Jewish believers.

In chapter

8

the Holy Spirit

falls upon

the Samaritan

believers.

In chapter

10

the Holy Spirit

falls upon

the Gentile

believers.

What is Luke

trying to tell us

with this outline?

The gospel

is going

from Jerusalem

to all Judea

and Samaritans

to the ends

of the earth.

It's going

from Jews

to Samaritans

to the Gentiles.

That's why

Paul writes

in Colossians 1

that the gospel

is bearing fruit

and increasing

in the whole world

he says.

He says

that the gospel

has already

been proclaimed

in all creation

under heaven

in Romans

16-26.

So then

while the sign

of the gospel

going forward

to all the nations

does indeed

precede Jesus'

second coming

it does not

precipitate

Jesus'

second coming.

Hastening

the return

of Christ

is not

the biblical

motivation

for missions.

2 Peter 3

11-12

is the only

verse in scripture

that speaks of

hastening

the coming

of the Lord

and it mentions

nothing of evangelization

of ethnic people groups.

It says

wait for that day

by living in holiness

and godliness

and thereby

hasten the coming

of the Lord.

Now I say all that

but let me quickly add

that this does not

at all mean

that we should

not be zealous

for evangelism

and foreign missions.

We should be.

I think

we have a brother

visiting

from Minneapolis

as Lucas

is training

to be a missionary.

Matea

and David

have hearts

to go into missions.

The great commission

is still binding

on us.

The desire

to see God

worship

among all nations

still impels us

to go into missions.

I was talking

to Jordan

earlier this week

when he lived

in Thailand

for two years

he could not

go to church

because there

wasn't a church.

That's tragic.

Our God

deserves

to be worshipped

by every tribe.

His praise

should be on

every tongue.

He deserves

to be worshipped

by every tribe.

It's a tragedy

that there are

places where

Christ is not

named.

People are

perishing apart

from Christ

and they need

to hear the good

news of Jesus Christ

and so we should

share Apostle Paul's

ambition

to preach

the gospel

not where Christ

has already

been named

but especially

where Christ

is not named

so that those

who have never

been told of him

will see

and those

who have never

heard

will understand.

Romans 15

20 to 21.

According to

2 Peter 3

9

our Lord Jesus

tarries

in his return

because he's

being patient

not wishing

that any should

perish

but that all

should reach

repentance.

The fact

that Jesus

hasn't returned

yet means

that there

are still

more people

left

that God

intends to

gather

and save

for himself.

It is our

God-given

commission

to go to

those people

so yes

go

go to the

unreached

people groups.

I pray to God

that he will

raise up

missionaries

from our

church

to go to

all 12

of the

nations

that we

pray for

throughout

the year

but don't

think

but don't

think

that your

missions

work

don't

think

about

missions

in a

presumptuous

and mechanistic

way

as if

by reaching

the unreached

we can

force

Christ's

hand

and make

him

return.

If the

timing of

Christ's

return were

really up

to our

efforts

then we

could very

well near

know the

day and

hour of

his

return

can't

we?

Think

about it

if there

are around

200 people

groups

left

then we

know for

sure Christ

is not

coming back

today

we know

for sure

Christ is

not coming

back

tomorrow

in fact

I think

we can

be fairly

certain

he's not

coming back

the rest

of 2026

and then

if you

keep track

I mean

there are

groups that

keep track

of these

things

you can

check off

the people

groups

one by

one

ten left

nine left

eight

seven

six

five

four

can't

you know

the day

and hour

of Christ's

return

but that

contradicts

explicitly

what Jesus

says in

chapters 24

to 25

he says

no one

knows

that day

and hour

and that

Christ

will come

back like

a thief

in the

night

at an

hour

we do

not

expect

he's

coming

back

when we

do not

expect

him

so why

are we

trying so

hard

to expect

and figure

out

and predict

the exact

time

of his

coming

the final

sign that

precedes the

second coming

of Christ

is the

shaking

of the

powers

of heaven

Matthew

24

29

says

immediately

after the

tribulation

of those

days

the sun

will be

darkened

and the

moon

will not

give its

light

and the

stars

will fall

from heaven

and the

powers

of the

heavens

will be

shaken

and the

clause

immediately

after the

tribulation

of those

days

connects

this sign

with the

preceding

passage

about the

desolation

of the

temple

and the

great

tribulation

and because

I believe

that those

days of the

tribulation

refer to the

period leading

up to and

following the

destruction of

Jerusalem and

the temple

in 70

AD

I also

believe that

these heavenly

signs have

also been

fulfilled

now you're

like now

you're a

little crazy

what do you

mean

haven't you

been outside

today the

sun is still

there

the moon

is still

giving its

light

how can you

possibly say

that these

things have

been fulfilled

I used to

think that way

also so

give me a

chance here

but as I've

studied the

Bible more

I've learned

that the

language of

the darkening

of the sun

and the

moon and

the falling

of the

stars of

heaven are

the classic

apocalyptic

language describing

the fall of

great empires and

institutions in